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1985 French Grand Prix
7 July |number = 411 |officialname = 71e Grand Prix de France |circuit = Circuit Paul Ricard |location = Le Castellet, Var, France |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.809 |laps = 53 |distance = 307.877 |pole = Keke Rosberg |polenation = FIN |poleteam = |poletime = 1:32.462 |fastestlap = 1:39.914 |fastestlapdriver = Keke Rosberg |fastestlapnation = FIN |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 46 |winner = Nelson Piquet |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Keke Rosberg |secondnation = FIN |secondteam = |third = Alain Prost |thirdnation = FRA |thirdteam = }} The 1985 French Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the 71e Grand Prix de France, was the seventh race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Paul Ricard on the 7 July 1985.'French GP, 1985', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr393.html, (Accessed 25/03/2019) The race would see Nelson Piquet secure his first victory of the season for , a triumph which also proved to be Brabham's last in F1. Qualifying would see Keke Rosberg grab pole position for , although their weekend was marred by a huge accident for the Finn's teammate Nigel Mansell which left the Brit unable to take part. Regardless, Rosberg would share the front row with quali-star Ayrton Senna of , while Championship leader Michele Alboreto claimed third. Race day proved to be very hot, resulting in a lot of talk about which tyre supplier, Pirelli or Goodyear, would have the advantage. At the start it would appear to be fairly even, for Rosberg was able to sprint ahead of Senna, while Piquet, the first man on Pirellis, leapt from fifth to third. The early stages would see the race quickly settle into a steady rhythm, aided by several early retirements. Indeed, Alboreto was the first of the front runners to drop out, his suffering an engine failure, while the two s disappeared within a lap of each other with unrelated issues. Piquet, meanwhile, seemed to have an advantage on his Pirelli tyres, and duly eased ahead of Senna with ease on lap seven. A few laps later and the double World Champion was glued to the tail of Rosberg's Williams, before a brave lunge inside the Finn at Beausset carried the Brabham-BMW into the lead. With that the battle for victory was done, with Piquet able to escape after one aborted lunge by Rosberg into the first corner. The Finn was hence left to fend off the increasing attentions of the two s of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, although only after they had found their way past Elio de Angelis. Lauda's race was to come to an just after half distance, with a gearbox failure releasing teammate Prost to attack Rosberg for second. Ultimately the Frenchman would be left with an easy move on the Finn, who was to pit for fresh tyres once Prost's McLaren swept through. Rosberg rejoined down in fifth behind de Angelis and Stefan Johansson, and would spend the rest of the race chasing after Prost. Out front, meanwhile, Piquet was able to cruise home to claim his first win of the season, while Rosberg would catch as pass Prost on the final lap to claim second. The rest of the points would go to Johansson, de Angelis and Patrick Tambay. The results of the race would see Alboreto continue to lead the Championship hunt, although Prost would move within five points of the Italian in second. Background Michele Alboreto had retained the lead in the Championship after the Detroit Grand Prix, and had even managed to grow his advantage to seven points. Elio de Angelis, meanwhile, had moved into a clear second ahead of Alain Prost, while Stefan Johansson had moved into fourth after his second second place in two races. Keke Rosberg, meanwhile, would leap into the top five after claiming victory in Detroit, while double World Champion Nelson Piquet had finally got onto the board, albeit down in sixteenth. In the Constructors' Championship it was still who led the charge, having ended the Detroit weekend on 47 points. Indeed, the Scuderia had managed to extend their lead over with a double podium finish on the city streets, opening a fourteen point gap between themselves and their Norfolk based challengers. Behind, had retained third ahead of , while appeared at the foot of the scorers' list in ninth. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Mansell crashed at Signes and did not take the start of the race due to picking up a concussion. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Fabi was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 100th entry for Patrick Tambay.'1985 French GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1985&gp=French%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 25/03/2019) * Jonathan Palmer entered his twentieth Grand Prix. * Thirteenth victory for Nelson Piquet.'7. France 1985', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/france.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2019) * secured their 35th and final victory. ** Also Brabham's 120th podium finish. ** powered a car to an eighth win. * 30th podium finish for Alain Prost. * First fastest lap to be recorded by Keke Rosberg. Standings Michele Alboreto had retained the lead in the Championship despite failing to score at all in France, although his advantage had been cut to five points by his two nearest challengers. Indeed, Alain Prost had moved back into second with 26 points, once again overhauling Elio de Angelis courtesy of his two wins to the Italian's one, although both remained serious title contenders regardless. Keke Rosberg, meanwhile, would move into fourth after his podium finish, while victory in France catapulted Nelson Piquet up into seventh. Likewise, there had been very little movement in the Constructors Championship, with eking out their lead to fifteen points. remained their closest challengers in second, while had closed to within six points of their Norfolk based rivals. had also made ground in fourth, while ended the weekend just outside the top five after Piquet's performance. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1985 Grands Prix Category:Formula One races in France Category:French Grand Prix